AFRICAN leaders gather in Washington DC today for the inaugural US-Africa Summit called by Washington to countermand the progressive, and hugely successful Forum on China Africa Co-operation that has seen China forge win-win partnerships with the majority of African countries. The Summit, being held under the theme, “Investing in the Next Generation,” has been dismissed by analysts as Africa’s betrayal of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
African leaders gather to wine and dine in Washington as American munitions claim the lives of women and children in Gaza, where only yesterday the Israelis bombed another school killing over 10 civilians who were queuing for food.
The Israeli offensive, in which US soldiers partook, has so far claimed almost 2 000 lives, mostly civilians and wounded close to 10 000 others.
Analysts said the progressive world would have asked higher moral rectitude for Africa, which should have stood in solidarity with the long-suffering people of Gaza.
More so, Africa has once again been summoned as disparate states, not under the ambit of the African Union which would have made this a US-AU Summit where Africa would have spoken with one voice.
It happened with the EU-Africa Summit, it has happened again with the US-Africa Summit, it happens with the French-Africa Summit and is likely to happen with any other Western country that decides to fortify its interests in Africa.
Africans have once again refused to show the fierce group solidarity exhibited by its interlocutors in the other Summits like the EU-Africa, and French-Africa Summits.
The greatest irony of all is probably that the US is meeting Africa to map its relations without the continent’s deputy chairman, President Robert Mugabe, whose exclusion from the Summit had nothing to do with platitudes of alleged human rights or governance — which by the US’ own admission are off the agenda — whose main focus is given as trade and investment in Africa.
Apart from Zimbabwe, other countries not invited are Eritrea, Sudan and the Equatorial Guinea — which the Obama administration has accused of human rights violations.
Ned Price, a National Security Council spokesperson, said last week, “President Obama invited all African heads of state or government in good standing with the United States and the African Union to attend the US-Africa Leaders Summit.”
An African expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Egypt said, “The US is striving to improve its position in the (African) continent in light of the competition over it in the past two decades and China’s growing influence that has exceeded the American and Western influence.” The Egyptian delegation is led by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.
According to Egypt’s Daily News, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi rejected the invite after Egypt received a late invitation.
“The president decided not to attend the summit since procedures did not include his meeting with the American president,” said Raslan.
The Associated Press says more than anything else, the summit is aimed in part at building Obama’s legacy on a continent where his commitment has been questioned, despite having a Kenyan father.
Reuters argues that for many Africans, the US has lagged behind China and others in its engagement with their continent.
“The August 4 to 6 event “looks like a belated imitation of Africa gatherings hosted in recent years by China, India, Japan and the continent’s former colonial master Europe”, says the Reuters report.
“The United States has fallen perhaps a little bit behind in the race to win African hearts and minds. So I think this is an attempt to compete with the likes of China and the European Union,” said Christopher Wood, an analyst in economic diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs.
– The Herald